Originally from Queensland but now based in Melbourne, Peach was appointed to the role of chair and CEO of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) late last year for a five-year period. She has moved swiftly to decide what her priorities need to be.
First on Peach’s list is opening the doors of communication with key industry stakeholders. “I want to improve communication generally, particularly increasing the level of input from investors, analysts and other users of fi nancial reports,” she says.
“I see a key part of my role right now as simply getting out there to talk to stakeholders and working to understand what’s going on for others and what the key issues are.”
The AASB is the Commonwealth statutory body responsible for setting accounting standards for companies, not-for-profi t entities and the public sector. The AASB also has a highly active role infl uencing in the development of the International Financial Reporting Standards.
Finding a calling
Peach began her journey toward this pivotal industry role more than two decades ago. After completing her Master of Business (Accounting) with the Queensland University of Technology, she joined KPMG’s Department of Professional Practice in Sydney. Peach had initially thought that she wanted to be an auditor. However, she favoured accounting for transactions and found herself enjoying the technical interpretation of accounting standards far more, after meeting colleagues already in this field and learning about what this entailed.
Following this new path, she became a partner in KPMG’s International Standards Group and KPMG Australia’s Department of Professional Practice. Her role involved interpretation of complex technical accounting issues for a wide range of public and private entities. She also had a number of international financial reporting leadership roles within the firm.
Peach’s Department of Professional Practice role opened up the opportunity to travel and work in Amsterdam, giving her the chance to compare Australia’s work in this area with what was occurring overseas. On her return to Melbourne, Peach joined the AASB, first as a part-time board member, then as deputy chair.
First things first
Peach was about to take her list of key tasks to an AASB strategy session for sign-off when she spoke to Public Accountant. “There are a number of issues already on the table that I want to finalise. These include key domestic projects, including the standards on service concession accounting for grantors and on income of not-for-profit entities. These are all important AASB projects already underway that I’ll be looking to finalise as soon as possible,” she says.
An exposure draft of service performance reporting for the not-for-profit sector is another key priority. Also important, adds Peach, is helping to improve the Australian financial reporting framework – in particular the Reduced Disclosure Regime (Tier 2) – by reconsidering the key principles used to determine the required disclosures.
As well as these tasks, Peach is keen to find more innovative ways to encourage engagement and discussion. “Everyone is always so frantic, so I can see room for improvement when it comes to the way that we communicate with key stakeholders and obtain their views,” she explains. “The way we go about facilitating that process is something I’m looking into right now. I’m particularly interested in providing stakeholders with direct access to representatives from the International Accounting Standards Board [IASB] as an incentive for them to talk to us. Fortunately, this also fits with their objectives.”
Changing landscape
Peach admits there are a lot of challenges facing the accounting profession, including the need for credible industry standards and reductions in disclosures.
“There are challenging times, with new standards and new technological developments,” she says. “I expect big data, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) and the role of accounting standard setters to bring about some changes to the role of accountants. For example, accountants have generally been focused on financial reporting; however, we need to be more relevant in an ever-changing landscape and the scope of company reporting may need to be wider in the future.”
Peach adds that external users may prefer to have direct access to underlying financial data rather than the filtered disclosures provided by financial reporting, while reporting of information other than financial data is also likely to become more important. “This may see the role of financial reporting changing markedly,” she says, “so I’d urge anyone in the profession to make sure they’re thinking about what might come next and how they should best tackle it. However, I admit trends can be difficult to predict.”
Trying to convince business to consider new standards early – long before they become mandatory – is also a challenge, she admits, citing AASB 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers and AASB 9 Financial Instruments as examples. “AASB 9, in particular, may be beneficial to adopt early, to be ahead of industry peers,” she says, adding a final word of advice. “It’s very important that business keeps on top of the operational issues associated with implementing new standards and doesn’t leave everything to the last minute.”
It’s clearly a modus operandi that the new AASB leader not only preaches but practises as well.
